Ulster County Fair: From livestock to lemurs

Friday

Jul 25, 2014 at 8:41 AMJul 25, 2014 at 5:34 PM

It's been over 125 years since the Southern Ulster Agricultural Society first decided to merge the various agricultural fairs happening throughout Ulster County into one big fair in order to, in their own words at the time, "promote the interest of agriculture, stock raising, fruit growing, to meet a recognized want ... in response to the earnest demand."

Brian PJ Cronin

It's been over 125 years since the Southern Ulster Agricultural Society first decided to merge the various agricultural fairs happening throughout Ulster County into one big fair in order to, in their own words at the time, "promote the interest of agriculture, stock raising, fruit growing, to meet a recognized want ... in response to the earnest demand."

A lot has changed since then. The fair no longer costs a quarter, and kangaroos and lemurs now can be found at the fairgrounds along with all the usual barnyard suspects. But that "earnest demand" has never waned. Last year the fair set an attendance record, with over 50,000 people attending. If you're among those that the fair is expecting to return this year, or even if you've never been, Fair Manager Gary Newkirk has some sound advice for you:

"Come well rested and hungry," he said laughing. "And give yourself a lot of time."

There's certainly no lack of things to do at the fair. Hundreds of kids will take part in 4-H competitions for every kind of farm animal imaginable, including dogs, pigs, sheep and cows. Those looking for more exotic animals will find them at Two By Two Zoo, with kangaroos, lemurs, monkeys, alligators and snakes.

If you prefer your animals to be singing instead of slithering, the "Barnyard Cackle Review" offers a henhouse of animatronic singing chickens with names like Tanya Clucker and Reba MacEggtire.

There will be truck pulls, tractor pulls and a quartet of racing pigs. The "Masters of the Chainsaw" will be back, carving 3-foot logs into intricate sculptures that will be auctioned on the last day of the fair. Daily entertainment will be provided by headlining acts Mister Kick, Neal McCoy, Chris Cagle, The Lost Trailers, Katie Armiger and John Thompson. The Kent Family Magic Circus will be on hand to perform vaudeville, acrobatics and magic tricks throughout the week.

And all of this — the entertainment, the rides and even the parking — is included in the general admission fee. "You pay that one price and then you can ride the rides non-stop from 11 a.m. until closing if you wanted," said Newkirk. The only things not covered in the admission fee are carnival games, souvenirs and food.

And there's plenty of food, too. "You can get everything here from cotton candy to a full sit-down barbecue chicken dinner," said Newkirk.

He admits that a small part of him is relieved when the festival ends every year simply because he and his staff are always exhausted by the time the sun sets on Sunday night. But the feeling is bittersweet.

"Those 5½ days just fly by and you don't even realize it," he said. "And then you look at the expressions of the kids when they get off the rides and they're eating cotton candy. That's what makes it all worthwhile, when you know the kids are having a great time."